Pat Schroeder: Hillary Clinton Would Face ‘Subdued Sexism’

ST PAUL, MN - JULY 20: Hillary Clinton takes the stage during the 2014 Starkey Hearing Foundation So The World May Hear Gala at the St. Paul RiverCentre on July 20, 2014 in St. Paul, Minnesota.(Photo by Adam Bettcher/Getty Images for Starkey Hearing Foundation)Hillary Rodham Clinton voiced support Friday for President Barack Obama's use of executive actions to protect about 5 million immigrants from deportation, setting up a sharp contrast with Republicans on an issue that could play a leading role in the next presidential campaign. (Adam Bettcher/Getty Images for Starkey Hearing Foundation)

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) — Former House Democrat Pat Schroeder predicts that Hillary Clinton would face “a lot of sexism” if she decides to run for president in 2016.

Schroeder served in the House from 1973 to 1997 as the first woman elected to Congress from Colorado. Now 73, she appears in “Makers: Women in Politics,” a film airing this fall on PBS.

She was asked about Clinton on Tuesday at a summer TV critics’ meeting.

“She’s still going to have a lot of sexism,” Schroeder said. “I can’t believe there’s people saying can she still be a grandmother and be a president. There are people making snide comments about her age. It’s a little more subdued sexism, but it’s very much there.”

Clinton, 66, has yet to announce whether she intends to run in 2016. The former first lady, U.S. senator and secretary of state will become a grandmother this year when her daughter Chelsea gives birth.

Schroeder said she believes Clinton would bring a different approach to working with critics than President Obama.

“She understands how mean they are and she understands she’s got to come back at them with more force,” Schroeder said. “Obama thought he could bring everyone together. That just isn’t working in Washington right now.”

Schroeder ran for president but withdrew from contention in September 1987. While in Congress, she was the first woman to serve on the House Armed Services Committee.

She balanced congressional work with motherhood early in her tenure and was known for her focus on work-family issues.